Mergers & Acquisitions

Starbucks is shuttering its remaining Evolution Fresh stores, but the brand will live on.   The coffee giant will close the two Evolution locations, both of which are in Seattle, but will continue to sell Evolution Fresh cold-press packaged juices in its coffee shops and at supermarkets. It also is launching new flavors.      Starbucks bought the brand in 2011, reportedly with an eye to rolling out stores nationwide. But it never grew beyond a handful of locations.  

JackThreads is the latest company seeking help to stay afloat.   The online men’s retailer has cut its staff down to a skeleton crew with mass layoffs over the past two weeks, and is on the hunt for a buyer, according to Fortune.   

Women’s apparel retailer J.Jill is returning to the public arena after more than a decade of private ownership.   The retailer on Monday said it has launched an initial public offering of 11.67 million shares. The IPO is expected to have a price range of between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.   J.Jill has been approved to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “JILL.”  

The world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart, has eliminated the membership fee on its two-day shipping program ShippingPass – its strongest response yet to the growing dominance of Amazon Prime (which is not estimated to 65 million members worldwide).    

Regency Centers has promoted 14-year veteran Michael Mas to managing director of finance. In this role, he will oversee capital markets, co-investment partnerships, investor/lender relations, underwriting, and due diligence of new investments and information technology.   Mas was senior VP of capital markets prior to the promotion and earlier directed financial and operational aspects of joint ventures for the Jacksonville-based owner, operator, and developer of grocery-anchored centers.  

Dalton Street Properties has acquired East Side Plaza, a Michaels-anchored center in Shreveport, Louisiana for $8.95 million. Other tenants at the 78,761-sq.-ft. center include Guitar Center, Dollar Tree and Cato.   “The East Side Plaza sale was a significant win for both parties, allowing the seller to exit a non-focal market while providing the purchaser with a high-quality asset,” said Fred Victor, VP of Transwestern, who brokered the sale on behalf of the seller, Eastside Dunhill.

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Family Christian is going out of business.   The company said Thursday, Feb. 23 that it plans to close all 240 stores across 36 states, according to Reuters.    Family Christian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2015 with more than $120 million in debt. Since then, the chain continued to face a sales slump amid growing competition from online stores.  

2017 is just two months old, but we have already experienced what feels like a year’s worth of major store closing and liquidation announcements from national brands. This spike in store closings seems to have rattled retail industry professionals, and has gotten retail analysts and observers talking about big shifts – and thinking not only about what comes next, but how painful the transition might be in the meantime.  

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